Chicken Hair, Sand, & Chaos
by Kiona Kina's Panda
Summary: Gaara meets Sakura, an orphan looking for a home, as a child & 'convinces' Temari & Kankuro to take her in. Later, the four go to Konaha, where even more chaos will await them. And btw, Sasuke & Gaara get their first crush... on the same girl! Plz R&R!
1. Meeting Sakura

Gaara watched as the other children of Suna ran to the warm arms of their parents. They usually hugged their parents with all their might before noticing Gaara watching, longing for someone to hug him. Then, as it had always been, they scowled at him & went inside.

Today was no exception. He watched as an 8-year-old brown-haired girl rushed to her parents who picked her up in a hug and carried her in at the sight of Gaara.

Gaara sighed & walked his teddy bear to the swings of the Suna Park. The other kids screamed in terror & ran home. Gaara ignored them, went to his favorite swing, & sat down.

He held back tears & began to swing slowly as thoughts & emotions swirled in his mind, trying desperately to escape their prison. _Why does everyone hate me? _He asked himself. Why do they ALWAYS run away?! What did I do to deserve this?

Just as tears started to slide down his pale face, Gaara came out of his rather depressing thoughts to realize that he wasn't alone in the park. There were a bunch of big kids gathered in a circle around the sand box. They all seemed to be having fun & talking rapidly, but Gaara just couldn't hear a word of what they were saying.

Gaara decided to get closer, but to be sure that they wouldn't run away, he decided to hide in a nearby tree, so that he could at least see what was so amusing.

Inside the sandbox was a small pink-haired girl with a small stuffed panda, both looking like they'd seen better days. The girl bore the same sad, scared sea green eyes as he, which had a waterfall of tears falling from them, sliding down her porcelain-skinned face. The boys seemed to be making fun of her & occasionally joked about her forehead, which was _slightly _larger than Gaara's own forehead, & debated whether they should steal the panda from her or if they should 'play doctor' & cut it open. Finally, one of them decided to try to kick her.

It wasn't any of this that made Gaara use his sand to shield her from the kick; it was that he understood the message that her eyes were sending these bullies. They were crying for help, begging for them to leave her & her panda alone. He understood this because he knew what it was like to send a message you thought was clear & obvious, only to have it ignored completely. He knew what it was like to have his feelings & pleas ignored. At least he had Yashamaru. This girl looked like she'd lived on the streets for a while.

Inside a sphere-like jail cell with only a hole at the top, the girl stopped crying. He could feel her placing her hands on the sand wall that surrounded her, running her hands on its grainy surface. She was probably wondering what was going on.

Gaara climbed down from the tree, causing the boys to turn their heads towards him. Gaara already knew what would come next. It happened too many times to count.

"Crap! It's Gaara!" they screamed, their terror blocking the fact that Gaara was crying at the sound of their screams. "RUN!"

"No, please! Don't go! Wait!" Gaara cried. But he was too late. They had run away, just like everyone else had. He dropped the sand shield around the girl.

_Now she's going to run off like everyone else, despite the fact that he just saved her, _Gaara thought, tightly closing his eyes.

10 seconds passed & nothing happened.

10 more seconds, & he _still_ didn't hear anything.

He closed his eyes tighter as he heard footsteps slowly get closer & stop.

5 seconds passed & Gaara opened one eye. There stood the girl & her panda, a shy smile on her face. Gaara opened both eyes & stared in shock. It was then that it happened. It was then that she gave Gaara his first hug.

* * *

Me: Aww… Gaara's first hug!

Kabuto: …You're a loser. Do you realize this?

Me: (smiles) Yea, I do…

Kabuto: o.O

I hope you liked it! I edited the spelling errors on this, so that it would be easier to understand. I'll try to update soon!


	2. New Secrets to Learn

Me: I'm back!

Gaara, Sakura, & Kabuto: (whine in unison) Already?

Me: (blink) ...I've been gone for, like, 5 MONTHS! Kay's just been typing up my _written _stories. I just decided that this story's too special to let anyone else type (no offense Kay)

Gaara & Sakura: I guess that's okay...

Kabuto:I disagree completely.

Me: Really now...?

(continued the end of the chappie)

* * *

******_Disclaimer: Honestly, do I REALLY have to put this?! Kishimoto-san's a boy people! I'm a girl. Do I LOOK like a boy to you?!...wait...you can't _see_ me, can you?...crap..._**

* * *

Time went by, &, as fate would have it, Gaara 'convinced' his siblings to adopt Sakura. They were perfect for each other. Gaara warded off all those that wanted to pick on Sakura & Sakura was always there to keep Gaara company. Everyone said that "Suna's Little Monster" had found his soul mate.

What's more, the two went & did everything together. They walked together, talked together, even slept together. In fact, the only thing they _didn't _do together, was bathe, & that was because Temari & Yashamaru forbade it.

It was a pleasant, windy day & Sakura & Gaara were playing ball on the roof. "WEE!" Sakura squealed as she bounced the cherry red ball to Gaara excitedly. Gaara caught it & smiled, trying to think about the last time he & Teddy had never been so happy. Even Teddy had a new friend (Sakura's stuffed panda, Bamboo).

He bounced it back to Sakura, but her eyes weren't on the ball, causing it to roll past her; instead, she looked past him in horror, slowly lifting a trembling finger to the source of her fear.

Gaara followed Sakura's pale wavering finger to find a mysterious figure dressed in all black behind him. He glared at Gaara & pulled out a kunai, aiming steadily for him.

"No!" Sakura screamed, blindly running towards the masked figure as the kunai collided with Gaara's sand 'shield'. Sakura started pounding her small fists against the figure's stomach. "How dare you try to hurt my friend!" she shrieked.

Keeping his eyes glued to Gaara, he pushed Sakura away from him with such force that she was pushed off the roof. "Annoying little brat..."

Gaara fell to his knees, & concentrated hard on making a sand cushion for his quickly falling companion, barely catching her. The figure took this moment to try to attack Gaara, only to be pushed back by Gaara's shield. Gaara glared at his new-found foe with contempt as he placed Sakura softly on the ground, who quickly headed for the side stairs to try & aid her friend.

Between Gaara & the masked figure, an inexorable fray began, each parrying the others blows. Then the figure tripped & fell backwards, falling against the door that lead to the inside of the building. Gaara used this chance to pierce his enemy's body with several sand kunais before pinning him to the ground.

Gaara rushed over to his opponenet & pulled off his mask, weeping when he discovered it to be his beloved Yashamaru. "Why, Yashamaru? Why did you attack us?" he begged.

"From the day you two were born, I have hated both of you. You, for taking the life of my sister with your _pointless_ birth, & that _bitch_ of a girl you call your 'friend' for having those _annoying_ goody-goody parents of hers & following their footsteps by befriending you. I'll have to dispose of her like I did her parents after I finish with this mission," Yashamaru growled in response.

Tears gushed even fiercer at Yashamaru's words. It was because of _him_ that Sakura was orphaned? It was because of his uncle that she cried out at night, screaming & sobbing from the terror of her dreams? He was the cause of her pain? And here he was, threatening, not only Sakura's, but his life.

Gaara gulped back tears & cleared his throat. " Who gave you this mission?"

"Why, your father of course," he answered through hard breaths. When he noticed Gaara's expression, he smirked & added, "although, it was my choice to accept it." And with these last words spoken, Yashamaru took in his last breath & died, a smirk settled on his dead face.

As Gaara continued to cry, he heard a surprised gasp from behind him. He turned to see Sakura standing at the edge of the stairs, staring at Gaara in disbelief & confusion.

"Sakura, I-"he started, only to interrupted by Sakura, tears streaming down her white face like a waterfall & painful memories flooding her innocent mind as she fled back down the stairs, heading for the safety of her home, where she could hide from her reminiscences once more.

"Sakura!" "_AAHHH!"_

* * *

_(continued from beginning of the chappie)_

Kabuto: Yes, that's right...

Me: (grabs Kabuto & goes into a lip lock w/ him for 5min) Still disagree?

Kabuto: fdjksahjskdfhjk...

Sakura & Me: ...what did he say?...

Gaara: He said 'maybe...'

Sakura: How did you-

Gaara: Don't ask...

* * *

Me: Sorry to leave you at a cliffie, but I do _so_love them, thou... Plz review!

Review button: Plz touch me!

Me: ... o.O


	3. All Falls Down

Me: Hello, all! I'm baaaack~!

Gaara: Aw, I thought we were rid of you for sure...

Me: Nope. *wraps arms around his shoulders* You'll never be rid of me. *smirks and kisses his chin*

Gaara: *bluush*

* * *

_Italic for Gaara's thoughts_

**_Bold Italic for Shukaku_**

* * *

Gaara didn't know what else to do; when he reached the bottom step, Sakura was on her side, pulling herself as far away from him as her weak arms could manage. When she saw him, she started crying even harder and attempted to stand and run, only to fall on her injured ankle. At the sound of her pained howl, people started watching them from their windows, mumbling that the monster had turned on his only friend. He did the only thing he could think to do: he ran away.

He ran until he reached the edge of the Suna, stopping to stare at the vast sea of sand that laid before him. He had never really looked around at the desert that surrounded his city before. He had always heeded Yashamaru's warning about going off into the desert on his own, but now he wondered if anything Yashamaru had ever told him had ever been true.

What if he left Suna? Maybe he could find a new place to live, a place where people wouldn't know about Shukaku. Or better yet, a place where he could live by himself, where there would be no one to reject and run away from him.

He took a step forward and, for a moment, felt a wave of peace flow through him. He closed his eyes and smiled to himself.

**_Don't tell me you're really going to let those ingrates chase us away from our home. _**

_Shukaku, _Gaara frowned. _Just leave me alone. I don't want to talk to you._

_**Why do you let them get away with making you feel this way? **_

_What else am I supposed to do?_

_**Get even.** _Sand started lift from the ground and circle him slowly. He could feel Shukaku's power flowing through him, taunting him. _**It'd be so easy. You're so much more powerful than any of them. All you have to do is give in...** _

Gaara squeezed his eyes shut and bit his lip. _No. Stop it. Nothing good comes from letting you have control._ The sand froze where it was and Gaara felt Shukaku his in his head.

**_Fine. Play the fool._**The sand started attacking his forehead, carving deep into his skin as he screamed in pain. Then, just as soon as it started, it stopped and Gaara fell to his knees in pain. _**I'll still be here, when you come to your senses. Remember that.**_

For a moment, Gaara just kneeled there, mind exhausted from the horrors he'd faced that day. The next, he was on his feet, running home as fast as he could. He ran inside and pushed past a concerned Temari, shooting her a glare to get her to back away from him. He slammed the door to his room shut behind him and ran to the bathroom to clean his forehead in the sink.

When he finished, he looked into the mirror to see how bad he had been hurt. He gasped at what he saw. The kanji "love" (愛, _ai_) was engraved right above his left eye.

* * *

Gaara: Shukaku wasn't the one who did that to my forehead...

Me: *puts a finger to his lips in a 'hush' notion* This is called "fan fiction" for a reason... Anyways, I hope everyone enjoyed the new chapter. I'll try to keep adding to this regularly. Reviews and favs definitely help motivate me to write. .

Review button: You know you like touching me. Don't fight it. ;3

Gaara and Me: ... *slowly back away*


	4. After the Storm Passes

Me: Hello again! I recently updated the last chapter because I noticed that some of the sentences that I had meant to type hadn't actually been typed. Sorry about that. ^^;

Sasuke: Like anyone really cared. Only a few people actually read this story anyway.

Me: ...When did you get here? o.O I don't remember you ever leaving Orochimaru's closet...

Sasuke: I came out a while ago...

Me: ...PFFFFFT! XD It's too bad Gaara's not around to hear that. Speaking of which, where is he? :/

Sasuke: *shrug*

* * *

_**Sakura's POV**_

Through blurred eyes, Sakura watched her best friend flee. As soon as he was out of sight, villagers came out of their homes. They gathered around her and stared at her, some grimacing slightly at her twisted ankle, but no one seemed to want to help her. 'He might come after us,' some of them whispered to themselves as they went back inside their houses. 'And maybe she deserved whatever it was he did to her.'

Sakura just sat there, numb from everything that had happened. She didn't know how to feel about anything. After hearing Yashamaru's last words, she knew that she should thank Gaara for killing the man who turned her into an orphan and that she should console him for his loss, but something horrified her about him now. She had never imagined that he would have so much power. Or that he could actually kill someone. She curled up as comfortably as she could without straining her ankle and lost herself in thought.

Twenty minutes had passed when Kankuro found her. "Whoa, what're you doing there all by yourself?"

Sakura stared up at him, not knowing what to say. Kankuro shifted uncomfortably.

"Did you get separated from Gaara and got lost or something?"

Sakura cleared her throat. "Sorta. Can you take me home?"

Kankuro nodded. "Sure, kid." He held his hand out to her to help her.

Sakura ignored his hand and pushed herself up on her feet. She groaned a bit and shifted her weight to her good foot. Kankuro rolled his eyes and shrugged. "Follow me." He started walking off.

Sakura hurriedly hobbled after him, her injured ankle throbbing painfully the entire way home.

Temari was drinking tea at the dining room table when they finally got home. "You guys were sure out late." Temari walked over with her arms crossed, frowning at Kankuro. When she looked down at Sakura, her expression softened. "Are you okay?"

Sakura shook her head and held her arms up. Temari gathered her up into her arms and took her into the kitchen, setting her down on a counter. She examined her ankle, grabbed some ice, wrapped it into a towel and handed it to Sakura. "Put this on your ankle. It'll help with the swelling. I'll be right back." She hurried out of the room and came back in with a first aid kit.

After tending to Sakura's ankle, she got her a glass of milk and carried her to her room with her. "Gaara came home a while ago, looking upset and bleeding from his forehead. He ran into his room and refused to talk to me. What happened?"

Sakura paled. "He was bleeding?" Temari nodded and set her down on the bed.

"I don't know why he was bleeding..."

"And why not? You two are normally inseparable. What changed that?"

Sakura gulped and stared at the floor. Temari kneeled in front of her and pulled her chin up to. "Please, Sakura. Tell me."

She sighed and told Temari everything she knew. Temari sat quietly on the floor, face expressionless. After a while, she spoke again. "You should sleep in here for tonight. Gaara's going to need a little time to calm down now, but I think that tomorrow morning you should talk to him. He really needed you today and you tried to abandon him. I'm not going to make you do anything you don't want to, but it'd be in your best interest to try to make up with him as soon as you can."

With that, Temari kissed her forehead, grabbed a blanket out of her closet, and left the room.

Sakura sighed, put her glass of milk on the stand near the bed and laid down.

* * *

Gaara: *pops up behind me and puts his arms around my waist* Boo.

Me: *high-pitched scream* NOO! DDD: ...Oh, hi, Gaara... ;~; You scared me...

Gaara and Sasuke: ...You don't say?

Review button: Click me, please! I have a wife and kids to support!


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